In a continuing effort to improve the quality of fresh market and shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine and peach seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as `Western Pride`. The present variety was developed by us in 1987 in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). It was a first generation cross using an unnamed freestone peach as the selected seed parent and `August Red` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,363) nectarine as the selected pollen parent. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects. The reproduction of the variety included the use of Nemaguard Rootstock, the standard of the stone fruit industry in central California, upon which the present variety was compatible and true to type.
The present variety is most similar to the `Summer Bright` nectarine, (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,049), by producing yellow flesh nectarines that mature in the latter part of July, that have sweet acidic flavor, and that are mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by requiring higher chilling, by blooming later, and by producing fruit that matures about 5 days later, is larger in size, and is freestone instead of clingstone.
The present variety is similar to its pollen parent, `August Red` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 6,363) by producing large yellow flesh nectarines that are mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom by producing fruit that ripens about about month earlier and that is freestone instead of clingstone.